


Unforgettable

by BleedingCoffee



Series: Trope Bingo: Round 12 [3]
Category: Eureka (TV)
Genre: Amnesia, Community: trope_bingo, Innuendo, It's not lying if you fantasized about it once, M/M, Trope Bingo Round 12, Trope buffet really, drug induced amnesia, fake married, is it an alternate reality if everyone fantasized about it and makes something of it?, shitpost science, this got longer than i expected-shocker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-13 00:57:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19240597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleedingCoffee/pseuds/BleedingCoffee
Summary: Nathan Stark is dosed with a drug that makes him forget the last three years of his life and of course it's up to the Sheriff to solve the crime and protect the director in the process.





	1. Amnesia

**Author's Note:**

> AN: For Trope_Bingo Round 12: Prompt fill “Amnesia”. Combo hit for #fake married which is not on my card, but sounded like a good idea until this fic went off the rails and shot past 10k. So, posting in chapters since this is going to get longer than I expected. Surprise!

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

_Unforgettable_

Chapter 1

**Amnesia**

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“So who is haunting Stark this time?” Jack asked as he entered the director's office and Allison, Henry and Jo all turned to him without a bit of amusement on their faces. Fargo sobbed and sank into the couch.   Oh, so this was _serious_. He put his hands in his pockets and looked to Jo for a quick situation report.

 

“He's suffering from some kind of drug induced amnesia.” Jo answered.

 

“Ok.” Jack said. “That sounds like you've got this figured out already.”

 

“Carter,” Allison said sharply, a little rattled by the situation. “Nathan walked into my office this morning, handed me his coffee cup and said 'I've been drugged, it's in the coffee. We need to get to the infirmary and run some tests to figure out what the hell this is. My short term memory is eroding.'and before we made it to the infirmary he already forgot the conversation. By the time we finished the tests, he forgot that he was director of GD.”

 

“It's not Anderson's memory wiper.” Henry said as soon as Jack opened his mouth and he watched his friend frown, clearly cut off before he could offer his obvious solution. “We tested the coffee and the drug was in there attached to the artificial sweetener molecules.”

 

“So, how bad is it?” Jack asked. Stark losing his memories was one thing, but would that also mean he was losing his knowledge? He had come to lean pretty heavily on him in addition to Henry on figuring out Eureka's problems, taking him out of the equation didn't have the best outlook.

 

“He remembers leaving Eureka for the job in DC.” Allison answered. “He's pretty angry with me as that falling out...well let's just say that it took a year to even speak to each other after that. He's not surprised or terribly upset that we're divorced.”

 

“Oh.” Jack said, not expecting the unloading of personal information. This _was_ serious.

 

“The memory loss has stopped, as far as we can tell.” Henry informed him. “Everything in the last three years is gone and he's frustrated with himself for not being able to remember and growing intolerant of us keeping him in the infirmary. Even if his signature is on the order.”

 

“We're afraid to let him gain access to GD's systems again.” Allison chimed in. “I've taken temporary control of GD, as Nathan is now a security risk.”

 

“Ah.” Jack wished he had more to contribute. This was bad, _all bad_.

 

“His MRI also shows his brain is almost overheating in the area where his short term memory would be located. So we've kept him sedated to stop him from trying to access that information. It's good news because it means the drug is acting as a blocker and the loss is only temporary, however it's bad because...”  Allison didn't want to say it.  It was Nathan and the thought of losing him to this scared her.

 

“His brain is overheating.” Jack nodded. “Yeah, I get it. Big engine produces lots of heat and the radiator core is plugged up.  I had a 454 in high school.”

 

Jo cleared her throat, “Since we need his help to figure out who did this to him and fix this problem, someone needs to be there for him. Someone he can trust."

 

Henry added, "Someone he can look to for answers instead of giving himself a migraine or stroke trying to access a part of brain that is going to melt.”

 

“Ok. Sounds like a plan.” Jack said and looked around the room and didn't like the looks he was getting in return.

 

“That's going to be _you_.” Jo informed him and he looked at her and laughed.

 

“Whaaaaat?”

 

“It's called fake married!” Fargo finally stood up and contributed to the conversation, rubbing his eyes in the process to clear away the evidence that he was on the verge of tears. Director Stark was someone he looked up to and for him to be losing himself shook him in ways he never thought it would. Stark knew everything and knew how to handle everything and now wasn't even sure why he was in Eureka. He cleared his throat, finding comfort where he always did when troubled like this, in fanfiction.  “It's a tried and true trope. It's perfect for our situation.”

 

“This isn't your Buffy fanfiction, Fargo, it's Stark's brain on nuclear meltdown.” Jack countered. “And who said anything about marriage?”

 

“Nathan remembers he and I are no longer together and is not in a place where he would believe we could reconcile.” Allison said. “A spouse would be able to have him released from the infirmary, something a boyfriend wouldn't. Nathan's also...invested in family. He would put aside a relationship and someone he's dating to figure out his situation but he will not abandon a family who makes it evident they want and need him.”

 

“What about you Jo?” Jack looked to her, filing away that 'want and need him' thing for later. God, no wonder those two were so screwed up, there was enough baggage between them to put LAX to shame. “You know him better than me, you dated Callister. You think Stark's tall, dark, brilliant....”

 

“I already interviewed him as _Deputy_ Lupo and not the new _Mrs._ Stark.” She said and then smiled. “Besides, he's never looked at me like he's looked at you, either.”

 

“Fargo looks at him like he's hoping to be taken over his knee and spanked!” Jack pointed to the dewy eyed assistant and even he had to admit that was a ridiculous suggestion. He switched gears. “Henry? You hugged him once, under threat of death but...it happened. Perhaps you liked what you felt?”

 

“Nathan and I parted on equally poor terms as he and Allison did and he's not my type.” Henry smiled at him, amused at the idea. Jack was grasping at straws and he was a bit concerned with the blank stare and half smile on Fargo's face right now.

 

“He's my type though?” Jack asked.

 

“I mean, you two flirt a lot.” Jo pointed out.

 

“You have a certain chemistry....” Henry added.

 

“I know damned well Nathan ogles you and turns on the charm when you're around.  There is no need for him to be involved in 75 percent of the catastrophes that get you called to GD, yet there he is:  smiling, smirking and snarking at you.” Allison added and her impatience was showing. It came across as a twinge of jealousy, which maybe later she could admit was true. Right now Nathan had her scared and she didn't have time for Jack's run around.  If she could order him to marry her ex-husband right now, she would.  But it was Carter, and he had to do his Carter thing.

 

“What _charm_? He calls me an idiot.” Jack countered.

 

“To which you rise to the bait and banter with him.” Jo shrugged. “The sexual tension in the room is enough to suffocate bystanders.”

 

“All these observations aside,” Jack said and rubbed the back of his neck the way he knew he did when he was uncomfortable. He knew _they_ knew he did it too which made him more uncomfortable. “How the hell does losing his memory result in me pretending to be married to him? Even in Eureka, that is a ridiculous connection to make.”

 

“He needs someone to trust, Jack.” Henry said. “We all know Nathan well enough to know he needs answers and in order to get the answers he wants he will lower his defenses. He does trust you, we have to hope those feelings are not forgotten.”

 

“Me? He is going to get answers _from me_? The village idiot?”

 

“More like Sheriff Carter-Stark.” Jo chirped and Jack gave her a glare. She sighed and got serious.   “Listen, just be you. You're trained for this, you've been through extensive interrogation training and as a Marshall you understand new identities from dealing with Witness Protection. You're also the one person he has no recollection of right now because he only remembers leaving a year prior to you coming to Eureka."

 

"Well..."  Jack was on the verge of giving in, but not quite there yet.

 

"You also have a case to solve because someone drugged the director of GD for a reason, so get in there and go take care of your husband.”  Jo snapped and saw Carter fold.  His shoulders sagged and he realized he was going to be sacrificed, once again.

 

“We made you wedding rings.” Fargo offered.

 

“Thanks buddy.” Jack said as he held out his hand and took the ring. It was inscribed with a date, _six months after his arrival in Eureka_. _God_ , not only was he married but apparently he fell in love hard and fast...for Nathan Stark. _Great._ “Bonded in matrimony. That's cute. Bonded, like chemicals.”

 

“Your husband is a corny scientist who fell in love with your quirky and lovable hot ass. He made the rings in his lab.” Jo answered.

 

“He would.” Allison admitted.

 

“He would _have noticed_ if his ring was not on his finger when he woke up.” Jack pointed out. Nathan could be scary observant when he wasn't rolling his eyes and being a condescending dick.

 

“We put his ring in the personal items bag along with his watch and clothes.” Allison said. “MRI, remember? You don't take metal in there.”

 

“You have portable MRI's, _remember_?” Jack said. “Or is that a recent development that wasn't around three years ago?”

 

“We needed a more extensive one.” Allison replied.

 

“See, even _I_ can tell you're lying.” Jack said and shook his head. “This won't work.”

 

“Fargo broke it.” Jo offered.

 

Jack pointed at her. “Ok, that I can sell.”

 

“We wanted a full body scan so we could tell if it was affecting any other parts of his body.” Henry said to cover up Fargo mumbling about Dr. Stark killing him for pushing the button since it requires a paperclip to avoid accidental engagement. Something Stark installed to avoid just this situation from occurring after a 'magnet malfunction caused by an accidental pushing of the rest button'.  “It was faster and more efficient to use the whole body MRI.”

 

“Ok, I'll just plead ignorance.” Jack said.

 

“That's what he loves about you.” Jo said with a grin.

 

“There is a dent from where a ring resides on your finger...” Jack said, ignoring Jo, while running his thumb over the area where his own wedding ring had sat for years.   These were all things he had learned while working witness protection, to fabricate a new life you had to pay attention to details and not just stories.  “At least there should be a patch of untanned skin.”

 

“We have a device for that.” Allison assured him. “We've got it covered. All that is left to do is for you to go in there and sit by his bedside and wait for him to wake up. Just tell the truth, you were out chasing chimera with Taggart and got here as soon as you could.”

 

“You also live in the bunker because he's an A.I. loving loser who moved in with his new family and helps his step-daughter with her homework.” Jo said and raised her eyebrows.

 

“Oh shit, we have to involve Zoe?” Jack moaned.

 

“She's going to be thrilled you two finally made something of this.” Jo said and shook her head. “You and Stark are absolutely embarrassing together.”

 

“Why don't you tell me these things!?” He asked as she came over and pushed him towards the door to sit and wait for his new husband to wake up.

 


	2. Fake Married

 

 

 

 

_Unforgettable_

Chapter 2

**Fake Married**

 

* * *

 

 

Nathan reached up and rubbed his eyes before opening them, he could feel the sluggish response time associated with being sedated and he was tempted to slap himself to chase it away. He groaned and heard a chair squeak beside him, eyes instantly opening as he realized he was not alone in his room. What he saw, as soon as his eyes focused, were a pair of brilliant blue eyes studying him with concern.

 

“Hey.” Jack said and bit his lip. He hated how easy it was to fall into this role, other than fabricating a history together it wasn't hard to walk in here and pretend to be married to this guy. Allison and Henry had bombarded him with personal information he honestly never wanted to know on the walk to the infirmary, but somehow he found a lot of it enlightening and kinda endearing. Fargo added a few things meant to be endearing but clearly illustrated Stark was a massive asshole to his assistant.

 

It was said with worry and the man looked like he wasn't sure if he should touch him or not. Nathan looked him over, he was gorgeous first and foremost, but thankfully he was wearing a Sheriff's uniform and name badge to assist with context clues.  Not knowing things was as painful as the migraine that trying to access those things produced so he  asked, “What happened to Sheriff Cobb?”

 

“He had an accident where a wormholy thing devoured his leg. After that, he took his retirement and I got 'promoted' to managing this circus of a town.”

 

He was honest and had a disarming smile. Those eyes were still concerned. 'Wormholy' was a concerning word, more in it's use than the incident it obviously was describing. “So what can I do for you Sheriff? Do I have to file a missing persons report for the last three years I seem to have lost?”

 

“Uhhh...” Jack took a deep breath.  Despite not having a clue who he was, Nathan fell right into their routine. “I can, but I'm mostly here in an unofficial capacity. More personal.”

 

Nathan felt his head start to throb as he tried, and failed, to make sense of that statement. He raised his hand up to press his fingers into his head to try to counter the pressure building inside and was surprised when the Sheriff grabbed his hand and squeezed it, apologizing profusely.

 

“Shit, Nathan, I'm sorry. They told me about the memory loss but it's not sunk in yet. I mean, having a conversation with you where I'm the one having to spell everything out....” Jack tried to laugh and saw Nathan squint a little, clearly still searching his mind for answers. “You're going to be an ass about this, of course you are. You can just ask me.”

 

The hand squeezing his, the way Sheriff Carter was struggling with what to say...the way he was leaning closer and looked like he wanted to pet his head...the ache of wanting him to. It all made him realize this was just more than a pretty face and concerned law enforcement officer by his bedside.

 

“I'm Jack.” He cleared his throat, the next words were not as hard to say as he expected. “I'm your husband.”

 

Nathan looked him over and couldn't help but but be impressed with himself. His husband was hot and clearly concerned about him. _Nice_. “Then you can get me my lab reports and blood work, have me released and let me get to work on finding out what the hell is going on.”

 

“ _Actually_ , we have people working on that and I'm here to take you home and make sure you don't overload that huge brain of yours and end up with a lower IQ than me.” Jack said and finally gave in and ran his hand through Nathan's hair. It was too easy to fall into this role. “We have an AI house who will be able to work with you on the science and medical reports. Allison says you have to be careful to not focus too hard on trying to remember the last three years. S.A.R.A.H., our house, will monitor your vitals to make sure you're not getting obsessed with recalling everything. I'll tell you what you want to know and maybe we can figure out what the hell happened this morning. Promise me you're going to lay off trying to remember? Otherwise they want to keep sedating you and from what Henry says, you could still try to access short term memories in your dreams....so that runs a huge risk too.”

 

“Makes sense.”

 

“You're just going to accept that you're married to me?” Jack asked curiously. “Mr. 'I have three PhDs, a Nobel and one of the world's highest IQs' Stark is married to local Sheriff who used the word 'wormholy' and that seems reasonable?”

 

“I'm instinctively at ease with you and you're definitely someone I would never take my eyes off of. So, yes.”

 

“Oh.” Jack said surprisingly.

 

“Don't sound so shocked.” Nathan drawled. “You're making me question it now.”

 

“Right...” Jack said with a smile. He had to back peddle and cover for that, so he added, “I still wake up every morning wondering why you're with me and honestly I expected you to be more of a dick when you couldn't remember our past.”

 

“There had to be some cataclysmic event that brought me back to Eureka after the path of destruction I left in my wake when I took the transfer out of here.” Nathan said honestly. “I wasn't expecting it to look like you though, and I have to say it's a pleasant surprise.”

 

“Yeah you keep up the flattery,” Jack said with a wink. “I'm still not letting you see your medical records or giving you access to GD's computers.”

 

“I can be persuasive.”

 

“Yeah and I _love_ your tongue being put to use that way...” Jack said and blushed because this went way past pretending to be married and into a erotic fantasy he was now divulging. At least nobody was listening in, he made sure they turned off the microphones when he came in here. One little concession. he didn't want this being Eureka's new soap opera.  “But we have to focus on the swelling in _this_ head.”

 

Nathan felt the tug on his hair and watched Jack turn red as he stood up. Well, he was _definitely_ quite the catch and Nathan couldn't help but wonder what man he was now that lead him to be married to someone like him.

 

“Let me go check on your clothes and see if I can get you released.” Jack said and gave his hand a squeeze.

 

“What? No kiss?” Nathan asked teasingly. “Maybe this is sleeping beauty and you just need a kiss to wake me up.”

 

Jack narrowed his eyes at him. “You're testing me.”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“You're an asshole.”

 

“Definitely.”

 

Jack bent down and kissed his forehead and said, “As long as you promise me to not overtax your damned brain trying to remember shit, OK? Beauty or not, you're insufferable when you can't work.”

 

“Now that's called blackmail, Sheriff.”

 

“According to you, it's called negotiating.”

 

“Touche.”

 

Jack snorted and placed a gentle kiss on his lips and swallowed hard as he felt that stir something deep within him. _Fake_ married. It was _fake_ and Stark was going to get his memories back and mock him for all this. “That's all you're getting because this is not your office where you can tint the observation windows and lock the doors.”

 

“Really?” Nathan said with a smirk. So, they had sex in his office? This kept getting better and better.

 

“I do promise to handcuff you to the bed if you try to walk out of here in that hospital gown.” Jack grinned back. Yeah, it was easy to fall into a 'thing' with him. That thing just happened to encompass some fantasies he never thought he would vocalize until now.

 

“Like that would ever...” Nathan watched Jack raise his eyebrows and nod an enthusiastic 'yes'. “ _Seriously_?”

 

“You love and trust me.” Jack said and licked his lip. “You also have serious issues with control. Well _had._..I mean...outside of work.”

 

“ _How long_ have we been married?”

 

“Oh, Nathan, _that_ happened on our honeymoon.” Jack laughed. “You're not the only one with a persuasive tongue.”

 

“Really.” Nathan said and sat up, intrigued by this life of his.

 

“Stay put, please.” Jack said and went to the door. He paused before it opened and looked back at him and said with sincerity. “We're going to figure this out and get your memories back. We always figure it out.”

 

“You say 'we' as if you're implying...”

 

“We work together, Nathan. Really well. You might not remember that, but I plan to prove that to you. Just don't blow your brain up before we can do that, OK?”

 

“You've given me some rather...vivid images to think about.”

 

“Super.” Jack said and pressed his finger to the door to open it. “I can't wait to get yelled at about your heart rate spike. I'll be right back.”

 

* * *

 

“The GD team has already moved Nathan's shit into the bunker and S.A.R.A.H. was briefed.” Jo informed him as soon as he got to the nurses station to get Nathan's personal effects. “He has a lot of shit.”

 

“Yeah, I can see that being the case.” As soon as Jack got out of Nathan's room, he got another dose of Allison unloading all her marital woes onto him as if this was her weekly therapy session. It went from a visual of Nathan and Allison standing in the baggage terminal not grabbing their luggage to an image of the Titanic sinking with all those fancy suitcases floating in the frozen Atlantic while they argued and the band played. He understood now why those people jumped off the ship to take their chances with hypothermia.  He also kinda wanted to see Nathan in a 1910's tux.  That image allowed him to cope with an hour of Allison's infodump.

 

“S.A.R.A.H. had to pick and choose what would work with her layout and used a whole sophisticated formula to merge his stuff with yours.” Jo added.

 

“Which means that I now have no presence in my own house whatsoever.”

 

“Right.” Jo said. “And ten percent of the closet space. There is like 50 grand in suits hanging in your closet. You should touch them, the wool feels like it was harvested from sheep in heaven and spun by the fingers of angels.”

 

“I'm not stroking Stark's suit.”

 

“You may have to.” Jo shrugged with a smile.

 

“What about Zoe?” Jack changed the subject.

 

“Oh she's been briefed and assures you that she as been waiting for this day.”

 

“Why does everyone keep saying that?”

 

“The town has been briefed by Henry, and they're excited the big day has arrived and gone, and embraced your everlasting love.” Jo added.

 

“God dammit.”

 

“GD photo-shopped some pictures, changed his drivers license and registration to your address with a much happier picture on it.” She looked at her list and saw all the bases covered. “You really don't have to worry about it. The redaction team went into reverse protocol and rebuilt a life and were pretty enthusiastic about it.”

 

“They like us married too, huh?”

 

“Yup. Less work for them when you keep the boss happy, _like you do_.”

 

“Glad you're enjoying this.”

 

“I am!” Jo said with a squeal. “So why don't you go give your husband his clothes and check him out.... _of the infirmary_ so you can take him home?  S.A.R.A.H. is prepared to catch him up on everything he needs to know while you go pick up Zoe at school.”

 

"Great." Jack said dryly as he grabbed the bag of small personal effects and the dry cleaner bag with Nathan's suit in it.  Because, of course, they knew how to take care of the man's suit while he was in the sick bay.   He did not give in and touch it, despite Jo lifting the bag and offering to let him 'pet' the suit.  

 


	3. Found Family

 

 

 

**Unforgettable**

Chapter 3

_Found Family_

* * *

 

 

“I'm home!” Zoe announced as she walked in the bunker and was greeted by the image of Dr. Stark on their couch looking caught off guard. She gave him a grin and walked over to the coffee table and dropped her chemistry homework down on the table. She loved this town, so much.   “Hey, how's your head?”

 

“Still missing the last three years.” He replied, disarmed by her being happy to see him.

 

“Well, did you still remember Bio-chem?”

 

“Of course...” Nathan replied and narrowed his eyes at her.

 

“Good, because I have _a ton_ of homework and you are _always_ excited to help me with that.” She smiled at him sweetly.

 

“Zoe!” Jack chided from the door to the bunker, it was scary how good she was at this acting thing. “He helps you _with_ your homework, doesn't do it _for_ you.”

 

“Dad, you said we had to keep his mind off the lost time.” Zoe dropped her bookbag on the floor. “Science is just the right medicine for...”

 

“Don't take advantage of your step-Dad like this.” Jack said and it didn't sound awful coming from his mouth.

 

“I'm helping him and he's helping me.” Zoe crossed her arms and gave him her 'totally innocent' look.

 

“I don't need his brain melting because you want an easy 'A'.” Jack said and took off his gun belt to put it away in the safe.

 

“This barely requires brain activity.” Nathan chimed in as he looked at the homework.

 

“Hey.” Zoe said offended. “Remember which Carter you're talking to.”

 

“That came out wrong.” Nathan offered a smile as an apology.

 

“If it's so easy you shouldn't need help.” Jack countered.

 

“Maybe I have other stuff I need to work on and it's a fun activity for your husband to do while he waits on dinner?" Zoe said.   "It's like a coloring book for him.”

 

“It kinda is....” Nathan admitted and reached out for a pen to start working on it.

 

“Nathan, no. Bad parent. _Bad_!” Jack said as he he leaned over the couch and snatched the pen out of his hand,

 

“Fine.” She said and grabbed her homework. “Thanks for ruining our bonding time, Dad.”

 

“Yeah.  That's what it was.”  

 

“Maybe he wants to ask me questions about his life without you around, ever think about that?” Zoe countered.

 

“He's got amnesia, he's not deaf and mute!” Jack said and leaned on the couch as Zoe dug in to fight this out. He looked at Nathan to see the man was actually enjoying this. He looked relaxed.

 

“When you're done hearing about the fairy tale from him, come to me for the _real_ facts.” Zoe offered to her Dad's fake husband but hopefully future boyfriend.

 

“ _Real_ facts? What does _that mean_?” Jack countered.

 

“I've been here for _all_ the Carter-Stark moments. From you coming home and venting about Doctor Stark this and Bastard Stark that....to the awkward moments I've walked in on...”

 

“Woah!” Jack waved his arms in the international signal of distress.  

 

“Dad, as a scientist he will want to explore the data from all sources not just the controlled experiment." Zoe said and watched Stark mull that over thoughtfully.  "I'm just saying, you're leaving out the good stuff.”

 

“Go do your homework.” Jack huffed. “I'll let you know when dinner's ready.”

 

“Tell me you didn't forget how to cook.” Zoe looked at Nathan and he looked surprised. She knew from what he ordered at Cafe Diem that he had a very refined palate and he often talked with Vincent about molecular gastronomy.   This was a man who knew how to cook because it was science.  Now it was time to sell this with a home run.  “With him it's all meat and potatoes if S.A.R.A.H. isn't cooking. The hot dogs have been in the fridge for two years and he will get them out because he doesn't believe they can go bad.”

 

"They're hot dogs!"  Jack scoffed.  "They're not naturally that color of reddish brown! It's all the preservatives and filler that makes them taste good!  Tell me when have you ever seen a moldy hot dog.  You can't, can you?"

 

"I rest my case."  Zoe said and saw Nathan cringe as he thought about an expired hot dog being served up for his dining pleasure. 

 

“I'm cooking tonight, Zoe.” S.A.R.A.H answered, saving her family from discovering she fed those hot dogs to Lo Jack every time he came by.  Sheriff Carter just kept buying them anyway, even though he never remembered eating them.   

 

“Thank god.”  Zoe blew a kiss to the ceiling and picked up her bookbag.

Jack watched her grab her books and run up the stairs, conveniently leaving her chemistry homework on the table under Nathan's nose . “So that's, Zoe, my daughter.  She's been supportive of us from the beginning, for reasons unknown. If you do her homework for her, _you're_ going to be grounded.”

 

“Seems like a great kid.” Nathan said with a genuine smile.  He liked the playful bantering between them, it felt so natural and well practiced.  This had to be a daily occurrence in this home.

 

“She's a former juvenile delinquent with a police record, but Eureka's been good for her. Been good for all of us.” Jack said, not wanting the fantasy to go to his head.  

 

“There is a error in the first question on this take home test....can I just...”

 

“No.” Jack said and walked around the table to grab the homework. “Last thing we need is a repeat of you going to the parent teacher conference without me because I was dealing with a pollen situation at Seth's place. Ten minutes, _ten damned minutes_ ,was all it took for you to make seven people cry and declare you were rewriting the text book they were using. So, no homework for you, Dr. Stark.”

 

“Jack, it's _wrong_.” Nathan said and reached out for the paper. “How can you ignore a mistake like that in educational material...”

 

“No!”

 

“Well I won't forget this and I'll address it when I get my memory back.” Nathan said firmly as Jack walked away waving the homework over his head.

 

“Great. I hope you'll clear your schedule to teach at Tesla _again_ when people quit.” Jack threw the paper on the kitchen island and then went for a beer. Ok, so this was all super easy to make up as they went. Maybe Zoe got her acting skills from him after all. “Redacting scientists is one thing, teachers are a whole different monster. They are hoarders, like educational material dragons who want to claw you alive for trying to take a spool of decorative border or a class pet, or P.E.T. as I came to find out which does not mean a goldfish.”

 

Nathan watched him walk into the kitchen and get a cold glass of beer while unbuttoning his shirt and untucking it as he went. He had already explored the home while Jack was picking up Zoe at school. S.A.R.A.H. filled him in on things as he walked around and considered it all. His furniture was familiar but he could understand that the square footage of the bunker limited what he could bring with him. There were a few photos, him and Jack in some candid moments where it looked like someone snapped pictures of them working in the field, but their wedding photo had kept him fixated the longest. That was on his nightstand. He rolled his wedding ring around his finger as he took it all in again, now that his family was all here.

 

"Hey, you want a drink? That allowed?" Jack held up a bottle of Scotch that had clearly been swiped from Nathan's place as it was not a brand he had ever heard of.   Probably expensive.   It had a description on it that described it's flavor like it was written by a romance novelist.   

 

 _He had a family_. He had a handsome husband who was concerned for him. He had given up his house to live here after some hostage event that had come after a fight between him and Jack . S.A.R.A.H. had told him, bashfully and apologetically, about the “B.R.A.D situation” because she said it was the turning point for him and Jack. They had dated, then work got in the way and they fought over the scientists at GD never being held accountable for accidents and safety standards being exceptionally low. Nathan wouldn't let him arrest people and Jack finally snapped. Nathan could see that happening, amazed that Jack had dealt with him that long before finally calling it quits. Except him quitting meant he was also leaving Eureka and S.A.R.A.H did what she had to do to make them talk it out. None of that sounded out of character for him. It would take being locked in a fallout shelter with an angry AI, to make him reconcile and admit that maybe he was not being responsible enough where it came to safety at GD.

 

“Did your brain seize up?” Jack came over and looked at him as he stared at a picture on the wall. Nathan glanced up at him, a soft and unguarded look on his face. Goddammit, the guy was beautiful. This whole situation was going to wreck him when it was over, but it didn't mean Jack was going to play it safe. Nathan was at risk, that was all that mattered. He'd throw himself on the grenade like he always did, that was his job.

 

“No, why?”

 

“I asked if you could have Scotch with dinner or if that was against doctor's orders.”

 

“I am a doctor.”

 

“Not currently _the one_ giving the orders.” Jack said with a smile.

 

“I'll have water.”

 

“Are you really OK?” Jack asked and sat down on the arm of the couch. “This must be what it feels like to have a conversation with me.”

 

“Jack, please stop insulting your intelligence. I certainly would not marry an idiot.”

 

“Oh, S.A.R.A.H., please tell me you recorded _that_.” Jack said gleefully and looked at the ceiling.

 

“Yes, Sheriff Carter. Would you like that set as your new ringtone?”

 

“No, _make it his_.” Jack said and sipped his beer, raising his eyebrows in amusement as Nathan continued to just bask in the glow of what he assumed was his normal home life.  He was cute in a 'I'm playing along with the domestic fantasy because I have no memory of how fucking stupid I think you are' kinda way.

 

“I do not have authorization to access the Director's phone.”

 

Jack glared at Nathan as an eyebrow quirked up, telling him that even with no memory that he knew his privacy settings damned well. He took another swig of beer and cleared his throat. “Listen, when you feel relaxed enough to talk about work, we need to figure out why someone might be targeting you.”

 

Nathan leaned back into the couch. “I'm ready when you are.”

 

“Are you going to let me ask the questions and do my job or are you going to be a controlling manipulative dick who is going to try and solve this yourself?”

 

If Nathan had any questions about whether or not this man knew him well, they vanished immediately. “Jack, if someone conspired to do this to me as the director of Global Dynamics, they're more than likely working with someone outside of Eureka at a very high level in our government. Not many people know about this place or that I run it. Perhaps it would be best for me to work with GD's security team since this is somewhat outside your jurisdiction.”

 

“Prior to being town Sheriff, I was a US Marshall. _America_ was my jurisdiction.” Jack said and was surprised when Nathan was impressed by that fact. Oh it was going to hurt when he went back to being himself.

 

“How did we meet?” Nathan couldn't help but ask.

 

Truth was the best option. “When you took over for Warren King, Susan Perkins came back to life and Walter Perkins ended up a ghost, but in order to determine that I needed a device and your approval to get it. At that time I was chasing after Allison and a little thrown off by her interaction with you and I came to find out she was your wife. Well you ended up being knocked out by Ghost Walter and I visited you in the infirmary, only for you to flaunt your shirtless body in my face and ask if I was sleeping with Ally. Great start. Really.”

 

“So let me guess, I got possessive of her despite not having any desire to rekindle things when I came back.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“So when did my attention turn on you instead?”

 

“You've always turned me on.” Jack said before he realized that those words came out of his mouth.

 

“Good to know.” Nathan said and grinned at him.

 

“But, ah, after your divorce papers were signed we had an incident where you let Fargo link your cerebral cortex to your computer. Then Taggart let some nanites loose in GD which in turn ended up with an army of Starks walking through Eureka. We lured them to the Lise Meitner dance at Tesla by sitting you down and making me kiss Allison. Then we blasted them with sound waves and destroyed them.” Jack said with a nod. Yup. Just another day in Eureka. Stark didn't even bat an eye.

 

“Why would you march an army of nanite minions into the high school?”

 

“Good acoustics and that's where the sound equipment was?”

 

“Why did you know I would be jealous of Allison kissing you?”

 

“I actually thought you'd be upset about Allison.”

 

“What made you realize I wasn't?”

 

“You got up and kissed him when it was all over.” Zoe announced from the stairwell. “Full on, romance movie style 'I'm going to make you never look at anyone but me again' kiss. _In front of everyone._ No, you were not being controlled by any device at that time.”

 

Jack looked up at his daughter who was clearly going to dig them into this hole with a backhoe if she had her way. So much for sticking with the truth.

 

“Bold move.” Nathan said, it did sound like him though.

 

“Well, neither one of you had a date for the dance despite being Eureka's most eligible bachelors.” She said and went to the kitchen to get some snacks. “You two were all over each other at the dance too. Good thing I saw the benefit of my Dad making out with the head of Global in front of the entire town and school.”

 

“What benefit was that?” Jack asked.

 

“I became Grade A lab partner material because the resident super genius was going to be taking up residence in _my_ house.” She answered and came back with a bowl of pretzels and sat down. “And how true that was. You pretty much never left and six months later proposed.”

 

“Six months?” Nathan asked, surprised at how fast that had happened.

 

“We were married six months...” Jack said trying to jump on that inconsistency before Nathan saw it.

 

“Yeah because Dr. Impatient makes a decision and wants immediate results.” She offered Nathan a pretzel and then glared at her Dad. “And Sheriff 'I hate wearing a tie' didn't want a real wedding and denied Jo and me a chance to plan the wedding of the century.”

 

“We got married fast.” Nathan asked. God, he really fell in love with Jack and wasn't going to let him go.

 

“You would not be swayed.” Zoe informed him.

 

“Was it after the B.R.A.D. incident?” 

 

“Oh S.A.R.A.H. told you about that?” Jack asked.

 

“Apparently as traumatizing as it was for us to be held hostage, we traumatized her with our reconciliation.”

 

“Shit.” Jack said and looked up at the ceiling. Her too!?!? “Can you please not going into graphic detail about things you should _not_ record in our home!?”

 

“Sorry Sheriff. It was a pivotal point in your relationship.” S.A.R.A.H. said happily.   This was fun.  

 

“Obviously if I proposed soon after.” Nathan chirped and watched Jack blush. “You were thinking about leaving Eureka, I gave you a reason to stay.”

 

“A few reasons.” Jack mumbled and was _so_ glad his phone rang. He looked down, it was Henry calling.  He turned his back and said, “Go for Carter.”

 

“ _We've got a preliminary work up of the drug that was slipped into Nathan's coffee. I'd like for him to take a look at it, should I send it over or should we meet somewhere?”_

 

“Oh, let's meet somewhere. Zoe and S.A.R.A.H. are going a little overboard with the details of my relationship and I could use a little fresh air.” Jack said and turned to Nathan. He could take him to GD, or Henry's Garage...

 

“Cafe Diem?” Nathan offered. He knew this had to be test results. “Not for dinner, of course. S.A.R.A.H. is cooking.”

 

“ _Thank you_ Dr. Stark.” The house said and almost purred. “I'm glad someone appreciates the work I do around here to take care of my family.”

 

Jack shut his eyes. Yeah, this hole was getting deeper and deeper. “Cafe Diem in half an hour.”

 

“ _Sounds good Jack._ ” Henry laughed.

 

Jack hung up and looked at his 'husband' and kid sitting on the couch, Zoe's mischievous grin evident as she munched on pretzels. She knew she'd be alone with him for a few minutes so he glared at her and said, “I'm taking a shower, you behave.”

 

“I'm enjoying telling my side of the story.” She said and crunched louder. “Less Hallmark movie and more reality TV.”

 

“Yeah, well...he still sleeps in my bed so I'll undo all...”

 

Nathan quirked an eyebrow as Jack groaned and Zoe laughed. That adorable blush was back even if Jack was trying to scrub it off his face with his hands.

 

“I'll set him straight.” Jack spat.

 

“Dad, there is nothing 'straight' about pillow talk and whatever else you want to illustrate in bed with _your husband.”_

 

Jack threw his hands up and just gave up. Zoe was hinting, not so subtly, that Nathan was clearly not appalled or offended by being married to another man and that her observations that the genius was probably bisexual were dead on. He was open with his own sexuality, never hid that from her, but he wasn't cool talking with his teenage daughter about the people in town that way. Especially when she _only_ pointed out Stark's appreciative glances and lustful gaze _toward him_. He wasn't some subject of an advise article in her girly magazine, he didn't need her advice on who to date in Eureka mainly because he _did_ have a thing for Nathan and she didn't realize that pointing out what couldn't be... kinda hurt a little. This whole situation was going to blow up in his face when it was over and he wasn't sure he was going to take the emotional injury as well as he did the physical ones. Hopefully Henry had a solution for this problem and he wasn't going to compound issues by sleeping beside Nathan tonight. He, apparently, was a cuddler.

 

 


	4. Kiss of Distraction

 

 

 

 

_Unforgettable_

Chapter 4

_**Kiss of Distraction** _

 

* * *

 

 

“I don't have a solution for this problem.” Was the first thing out of Henry's mouth when Jack and Nathan arrived at their booth in Cafe Diem. “We have, however, isolated the drug itself and provided a complete workup of the molecular structure for you. Currently we're recreating it and testing it in the lab, trying to see how it acts and interacts on test subjects.”

 

Nathan sat down and slid towards the wall so Jack could sit next to him. Being law enforcement he expected he would take issue with being trapped in the booth even if it was back against the wall. He took the tablet with the information offered and studied it. “Have you turned up any information in regards to what lab created this?”

 

“Zane is...” Henry mulled over his words, “Exploring that was we speak.”

 

Nathan heard a grunt from Jack and assumed that this 'Zane' was not using legal means with which to obtain this information. “And when can I get into the lab to work on this with you?”

 

“I'd rather you help Jack.” Henry said and got a glance of annoyance from his former student. “I know you Nathan, I know it will be less than fifteen minutes for you to try and access information beyond what we need in order to get back what you have lost.”

 

“You also just told him Zane is a hacker and that means he's going to blackmail or bribe him into helping.” Jack said. Nathan glanced at him, not in a moment of annoyance at being called out, but affection and appreciation. It made a lump in his throat form.

 

“Sorry.” Henry said and could see Jack squirm under the warm look from Nathan. Although he had been amused this morning by the situation he could see Jack was in the position to really get hurt by all this. It wasn't just an innocent crush, Jack didn't do anything halfway, and he had overlooked that fact. He needed to get this work done quickly, maybe even keep Nathan occupied to ease the pain when this all went back to normal.

 

“What about my lab?” Nathan asked. “Certainly I still have my own lab?”

 

Jack took a deep breath as he thought about the state that lab was in after Callister. The act didn't go unnoticed and Nathan was immediately leaning over him.

 

“What? What haven't you told me?”

 

“Later.” Jack said and looked up as Vincent came over with a huge smile on his face. _Oh God_ , this was _not_ going to be another incident this town just forgot about in a week.  This was going to have long lasting repercussions.   

 

“What can I get you, gentleman?” Vincent asked, noting how close they sat in the booth despite the booth being spacious enough to accommodate...well that sent his mind right down the rabbit hole and he was glad Stark spoke up.

 

“Vinspresso for me and Jack, nothing more. He's not spoiling dinner on my watch.”

 

That made Vincent grin, a deep satisfying radiant grin that Jack knew was going to haunt him. “S.A.R.A.H. is cooking. Don't want to make her mad.”

 

“Right.” Vincent said with a wink and left.

 

“Jack....” Nathan said, returning to the question he posed right before they were conveniently interrupted.

 

“Nathan. Not here.” Jack cut him off as he started to revisit the question about his lab.  He gave him a sympathetic look that was deemed good enough for some reason. Nathan simply raised his chin up and thought about it and Jack could see the immediate twinge above his eye as he searched for a memory that he couldn't access. He grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Hey...I promise I'll tell you.  Just not right now. Stop thinking about it.”

 

Nathan grunted and rubbed his temple. The headache was immediate and he would have been frustrated with the situation if he wasn't trying to think of something else to shift his mind away from searching his memories. A piercing pain told him he needed a distraction so he opened his eyes and saw Henry looking pensive and then turned to see Jack looking slightly panicked. To give himself something to think about, he pulled Jack over by the shirt and kissed him.

 

Henry covered his mouth with his hand to avoid anyone seeing him smile. Jack was shocked at first and then damned near melted into Nathan's surprise kiss. Vincent chose that moment to come by with the coffees and just stood there reveling in the moment. Henry raised his eyebrows at him and Vince just grinned and backed away. Yeah, the aftermath of this was going to be a Eureka event all it's own.

 

Nathan finally let go and pulled away from the kiss that quickly lead to Jack being almost pulled into his lap. “Sorry, I needed to think about something else.”

 

Jack could only weakly nod in response.

 

“Thanks.” Nathan said as Jack seemed to be unwilling to move and was thinking long and hard about that kiss. They must not have kissed a lot in public. He could see there being some need to maintain decorum there, with him being Director and Jack being Sheriff. Oh well.

 

“Anytime.” Jack choked out and then shifted back into his seat and could see from Henry's face that the kiss did not go unnoticed. Several GD employees were staring at them in shock and the counter was now crowed with people trying to place bets with Vincent.

 

Nathan went back to cycling through the data on the tablet. “I'm going to need to be able to work on this myself. You know that Henry. I don't care if you put me in a room with no internet access, just give me the equipment I need and let me work.”

 

“As if you can't make your own internet connection with a toaster and a few paper clips.” Jack mumbled and reached out for his coffee to try and cover his red cheeks. The entire cafe saw Nathan kiss him, in five minutes the whole damned town would know. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

 

“Nathan,” Henry said and paused, watching him get lost in the data in front of him. He winced a few times, indicating he was unable to separate the science from the situation that put him in the position to lose three years of his life. He reached out and wrestled the tablet back from him. “We both know that you mind works on too may layers. You won't just work on the formula, you'll try to determine who was capable of making it and who was capable of dosing you with it. This migraine is serious Nathan, it will cost you more than three years if you keep aggravating your memory.”

 

Nathan gave it up and sighed, choosing to concentrate on the feeling of kissing Jack. The way his surprise turned into a yearning for more. He had a lot to lose if he chose to pursue this hunt for answers and he wasn't willing to give up the family he clearly had. He opened his eyes as he felt a hand on his and looked at Jack who was once again worried. “I'm fine. Henry's right.”

 

“There isn't any reason I can't take him to his lab, right? I'll watch him.” Jack asked Henry, thinking that maybe giving him other answers would help.

 

“Not at all.” Henry said. “I'll call with any updates.”

 

“Alright, let's go then.” Jack said and grabbed his coffee, eager to get out of Cafe Diem, away from all the smug looks and out of range of all the pictures being taken. He waited on Nathan to scoot out of the booth and get his coffee and they left the cafe together, Jack holding the door for him before they went to the Jeep. He got in and started it, not wanting to go check in with Jo before they left because he couldn't deal with her teasing him about this right now. The whole damned town could tell he had a thing for Stark now, he knew that kiss was enough to broadcast that loud and clear. He could have just leaned back, instead he basically crawled into Nathan's lap. _Fuck!_

 

“So we don't kiss in public?” Nathan asked.

 

Jack shook his head. At least there was one thing he could truthfully say today, “No, we don't.”

 

“Huh.” Nathan said and Jack looked at him.

 

That was a definite declaration of it being _his_ problem and not his adoring husband. He never considered Nathan to be the warm and affectionate spouse, Allison left that little detail out when she got into graphic detail about his habits. “Yeah, it's _my_ thing. This town has taken great pleasure in ridiculing their idiot sheriff since I took this job. I didn't want them involved in _us_. They know, but I don't want to know that they're behind my back wondering what the hell you're doing with me.”

 

“It's a kiss, it's not sex on the table. Unless we're prone to doing that too.”

 

“You're brilliant, I'm not.” Jack said and put the Jeep in reverse. “That's all anyone sees. You and Allison were a picture perfect couple, matched in beauty and brains. You and me....not so much. Besides, we are on opposite sides when things go wrong in this town and most days I walk into GD I want to strangle you for letting these people ignore safety protocols and making me clean up after them. You take great pleasure in flaunting that you don't answer to me, or the laws of anything including nature, physics or the town.”

 

“I'm OK with this?” Nathan asked and Jack stopped in the middle of the road to look at him surprised instead of putting in drive. “Ally kept me at a distance because it was part of her powerful woman image she wanted to cultivate, but wanted me to openly affectionate at home. It's one of the reasons we fought so much. So I really don't understand why I'd go into a second marriage with the same arrangement.”

 

Jack jumped as a car horn honked at him, making him realize he was idling in the middle of the road. He put it in drive.

 

“Sorry, allow me to rephrase that." Nathan said, "I don't understand why I'd allow your obvious insecurities to be an issue and not crush them underfoot as I kiss you wherever the hell I damned well please and as often as I want. Clearly, you want it too. So, as bad as that sounds, I'm not the only one wanting to change this policy.”

 

Jack cleared his throat. This was not the conversation he thought he was going to be having today. God, he was going to have some serious insecurities when this was all over. “We both have issues that we carry from our first marriages and that's mine unfortunately.”

 

“We need to work on that.” Nathan sighed. “Especially since you're not embarrassed about sex on my desk at work but a kiss at Cafe Diem might end the world.”

 

“What we do in your office is behind closed doors.”

 

“And everyone knows what we do behind closed doors.   It's not like this town doesn't thrive on rumors as much as it does innovation. So why are you OK with them knowing you're being fucked and not OK with a kiss that says we're in love?”

 

“ _God_ , Nathan.” Jack gasped. This was all way too angry to be about him and from the debriefing he got from Allison he knew exactly where this was coming from. “Stop projecting your marriage problems with Ally onto us!”

 

Nathan turned to him and blinked. He took a deep breath and went back to looking at the road. “Sorry. I guess without the memories of the last three years I've just started filling in with what knowledge I do have.”

 

“We don't kiss in Cafe Diem, that place is an illegal gambling establishment and my daughter works there. It's not like I didn't hold your hand or sit next to you. That place makes me feel like I'm in a fish bowl and I don't like the feeling I'm not good enough for you, that's all. I don't kiss you at GD because I really am pissed at you being a dick most of the time. Last thing you need is positive reinforcement or an indication I'm turned on by our arguing.  Sex on your desk, the exception.  I'm only human.”

 

“I can see that.” Nathan said. “Sorry, it's unsettling not knowing you or your habits. I read people so well, it's how I can take charge of a room.”

 

“I know.”

 

“When I get my memories back, I fully intend to rectify this issue.” Nathan said simply. “Nobody is allowed to think you're not good enough for me, including you. If Cafe Diem is off limits, then I'll kiss you in the middle of the damned street in front of it.”

 

Jack gave a weak smile. When Nathan got his memories back he was probably going to hit him in the middle of the street.   “Alright. When you get your memories back call me out like it's some old western movie and we'll have it out in the middle of the street.”

 

“Deal, Sheriff.” Nathan said and smirked. “I'll even wear black and do it at high noon.”

 

* * *

When they got to his lab, Nathan was out of Jack's car before it was parked.  He needed to know what he was working on and he didn't want Jack seeing the twinge of pain while he thought about it.  He was at the door and using the entry keypad as Jack joined him.

 

“I like that you have no doubts about what your password is.” Jack said and walked up with his hands in his pockets. Nathan just walked right up with his air of authority and power and acted like he was just going to take charge of something he had no memory of.

 

Nathan didn't even have to think as he typed in 2554766 and the door unlocked. It was only after it worked that he thought about it. It spelled out ALLISON on a keypad, which didn't make sense if he had someone else who held his heart.

 

“Well, this is a first.” Jack snorted. “You're actually surprised it worked.”

 

“Must be habit, I thought I would have changed it by now.”

 

“There's a surprise.” Jack rolled his eyes. “Director Stark, lax on security protocols.”

 

Nathan looked at him concerned. “Am I?”

 

“In regards to letting your scientist leave with shit they shouldn't be allowed to play with at home, yeah.” Jack replied, seeing Nathan was just perplexed by his password not being changed. “GD Security wise, you are 'need to know basis' bullshit with everyone, including me.”

 

“Right.” Nathan frowned. He should have retired that password though, as bitter as he felt towards his ex-wife when he saw her again. He felt the migraine creeping back and said, “So why don't you tell me what you didn't want to tell me back at Cafe Diem?”

 

“Inside.” Jack said and took a deep breath as they went into the lab. He wasn't sure what they were going to find, he prayed that Callister wasn't just laying on some slab somewhere.

 

“Is this about Callister Raynes destroying the lab?” Nathan walked in and felt comfortable for the first time in a while. He had spent so many nights and days here, it was hard to not know it like the back of his hand. “I remember that.”

 

“It's about Callister.” Jack said and the way he said it made Nathan stop in his tracks. “He came home, Nathan.”

 

The tone of his voice said that it didn't end well. Jack was so transparent to him, he wished he didn't have to put him through all the bad memories again. “And?”

 

“He caused some interference with Eureka's electronics and you tried to protect him.” Jack leaned against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. That day sucked and he didn't want to go thru all the details. “He and Zoe ended up running away and we caught up with them at a bus stop. Callister didn't make it, his internals were already past saving, but you were there for him. We all were. I'm sorry Nathan.”

 

“Oh.” He wasn't expecting that.

 

“Let me go check the lab and make sure it's clear, OK?” Jack said and pushed himself off the wall and walked over to Nathan and put a hand on his shoulder with a supportive squeeze.

 

Nathan watched Jack walk ahead of him, shoulders sagged and hands in his pockets. They had been through a lot together and Callister's loss weighed on him too. He couldn't imagine Ally being that supportive of the A.I. who had come to mean as much to him as a child. Why the hell was her name still his password?

 

“Alright, come on in.”

 

Nathan walked down the hall and turned the corner into his lab. He had different equipment now. Well, it had been three years. “What have I been working on?”

 

“You've been working on the artifact.” Jack said and shrugged when Nathan looked at him expecting to elaborate. “It's some extraterrestrial glowing thing that is your obsession. I got blasted with some of it with my buddy Carl and we both survived falling off the Da Vinci Bridge. Then your henchmen shot me and some magic happened because of 'the artifact' and I was healed. All classified and honestly I don't really want to know what you keep in the basement of GD.”

 

“Carl?” Nathan asked. Then it hit him.  “ _Carlson_?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“ _You're friends_?”

 

“Not really, I just felt bad for the guy. Then you fired him and he latched on to me because he had no friends and I take in strays. Oh and you made him suicidal by firing him.” Jack sat down. “He got superpowers from the artifact and that's all I know.”

 

“He tried to kill you?”

 

“No, we fell off the bridge and your GD security dudes got trigger happy and blasted me square in the chest when Carl defected the shot. Then he saved my life, somehow. You wouldn't say how or where he went after I woke up. You're like that, secretive about your job.” Jack looked at him. “That could be why someone targeted _you_. You've got that thing in Section 5 and you don't let very many people even look at it. You have access and that's probably one of the few things someone could come after you for because it would be way easier to kidnap or brainwash a regular scientist if this amnesia thing was all about some experiment. The artifact is pretty hush hush.”

 

“But my data is here.” Nathan said and looked around.

 

“Not for this it isn't.” Jack said. “The artifact is a big deal. All this stuff is whatever you do on the side with your Fission Water Heater repair degrees from MIT.”

 

Nathan glanced at him, curious how much he brought home, but also amused by him.  Jack made him happy, that was something he didn't need to search for a memory for. “I work here then? Do we not overlap our work and home lives?”

 

“Uh, we do nothing _but_ work. GD keeps us on the clock 24/7. You barely fit your furniture in my house, you think all this shit is going to fit?” Jack laughed. “Nah, you have S.A.R.A.H to be your offsite computer and you bring home cool stuff to share with Zoe that is lost on me.”

 

Nathan nodded, hoping he could regain these memories of sharing his passion with a kid. That lead him to ask, “What about Kevin?”

 

“Despite your feelings about Allison right now, I assure you, you two have moved on and are much friendlier now.” Jack said as he walked around and looked at all the stuff on the shelves. _She's so scared for you right now that I have no doubts she's rethinking everything._   “Kevin is still a priority for you, I'll tell you about the dream machine later.”

 

“When do I have time to work here?” Nathan asked.

 

“Dude, if I could figure out how you find time to do everything you do I could get a doctorate myself.  You must bend time or something.   There are not enough hours in the day for it all, but somehow you make it happen.” Jack said and turned to look at him. “I am the Sheriff, I do have night and weekend shifts. Zoe is a teenager, she has her own life. You come here when you want to tinker.”

 

“I don't tinker.” Nathan shot back playfully.  

 

“Mmm hmm.” Jack hummed and went over to tap on a computer that was hidden behind a wall of robotic arms.  Nathan was currently 'tinkering' with one of those arms to type on his behalf.   “No computers for you, remember?”

 

“I need to know what I was working on. It could be the reason behind this attack on me.”

 

“We can come back after dinner, but I doubt it's here. It's too important from what I gather.” Jack said and Nathan's eyes lit up, like he was expecting some fight for trying to find the truth. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

 

“I wasn't expecting you to agree with me.”

 

“You believe the answer is in the science of the drug and I believe the answer is in the motive behind giving you the drug.” Jack shrugged. “We usually take different roads but come to some agreement.”

 

“Ok, let's get back for dinner.” Nathan said, tension releasing when he realized this wasn't going to be a fight.  Jack was going to help him and that meant the world to him right now.  

 

 


	5. It Meant Something To Me

 

* * *

 

_Unforgettable_

Chapter 5

**It Meant Something to Me**

* * *

 

 

Jack lost himself in the warmth and laughter around the dinner table as Nathan and Zoe filled the bunker with playful banter over science talk. Jack sat back and enjoyed it, happy for once to sit out and be the village idiot so he could watch his daughter hold her own against Nathan's already established brilliance. There were a few times Nathan had to stop and think, as her 'Carter-style' approach gave him a different view of something he had believed was firmly entrenched in established fact. Granted there were no Nobel level debates going on, but for Nathan to go back to the basics was enough to keep talk to a high school level.

 

 _Tesla_ high school level, of course, and well over his head.

 

However, no content and happy moment in his life these days would be complete without it being interrupted by his phone ringing. Thankfully it was after a good hour of this and not interrupting them before it could begin. “Go for Carter.”

 

“ _Hey, it's Zane. I got a lead on where this drug was synthesized. Already cross referenced employee and contract fulfillment data to come up with names that might ring a bell if Stark's up to it.”_

 

“Worth a shot. We'll head over as soon as we clean up dinner.”

 

“ _Bring leftovers? I'm starving. Slaving away over this.”_

 

“Sure.” Jack said and hung up.  He shook his head, he wasn't sure what Jo saw in that drama queen. Then again, as Nathan looked at him hopefully, he might not have much room to talk. “We got a lead, looks like we go to GD instead of your lab.”

 

“Sounds great. Maybe Allison will read me in on what I was working on.” Nathan said and then laughed at that idea, it was ridiculous. She would read him the same 'need to know' crap he apparently pulled on Jack all the time. He grabbed his plate and stood up, squeezing Jack's shoulder as he went to the kitchen to put the dishes in the washer.

 

Zoe was about to comment, the mood of the evening had her comfortable enough to tease Nathan at this point, but she saw the look on her Dad's face as Nathan squeezed his shoulder. All through dinner he had sat there with a grin on his face, as they all did, but it wasn't until Nathan went for the affectionate touch that the smile crumbled. It was if the mere touch reminded him that this was all fake, that it was no different than the holograms Putnam used for plays. She saw the flicker of hurt before he could put his lighthearted smile back on and she knew this was all more than just an act.

 

Her Dad was actually falling in love.... and Nathan was eventually going to get his memories back.  Things would go back to normal for everyone but the Sheriff, as always, as he carried the memories of everything he did around with him. It had been fun, it seemed so simple. They all knew there was a 'thing' between the scientist and the sheriff but nobody saw it was more than attraction or a crush. Now her Dad was poised to be crushed because they all forgot he was the kind of person who gave 100 percent of himself in every endeavor.

 

“Zoe, everything OK?” Jack asked as she looked lost for a moment.

 

“Yeah, I just realized I might have misinterpreted an assignment I was given and I have to rewrite it.”

 

“Well, we'll be at GD for a while so hopefully without distraction you can get it redone.”

 

“Definitely.” She assured him and grabbed his plate along with hers to put it in the washer. She walked over to see Nathan wiping his hands on a dish towel, looking completely at home in their kitchen despite none of this being real. Yesterday it wasn't, _but now...._ even she was wrapped up in this lie. They gave him a home, filled it with misleading facts, and he didn't question any of it. No, this was well beyond what the redaction team did, this had everything to do with how her Dad had treated him.

 

Nathan rolled his sleeves down and buttoned them, anxious to get back to GD and get answers. He watched Zoe gather up some left overs and put them in a lunchbox so they could feed this Zane guy he had yet to meet. He took the food and gave her a smile of gratitude as he walked to the door, showing how eager he was to get back to the problem at hand. He really wanted his memories back now, more than ever.  Life was apparently good and he wanted to get back to living it.

 

Jack stood up and looked over at Nathan who was at the door waiting on him like a damned dog who just heard the word 'walk' or 'out'. He felt eyes on him, telling him to quit screwing around and wasting time, something so genuinely Stark. He walked over and grabbed his keys, wondering if when he came back if he was coming home alone or not. At any moment Henry could announce they had a breakthrough and could fix him or he could find himself struggling to not fall harder for him than he already had. The situation was cruel; the uncertainty agonizing. “Alright, I'm coming.”

 

Zoe watched them leave, Nathan once again taking the opportunity to put a hand on her Dad when he could. He really was an outwardly affectionate guy and that was a surprise. Maybe in hindsight she could see how he did try to be that way with Allison but whatever was between them forced him to hover and wait for permission. She felt horrible now, felt like crying, because she never meant to hurt her Dad. She had been so excited when Jo told her about this 'operation' and it was fun until now. The door was shut and she looked up at the ceiling, feeling tears begin to pool at the corner of her eyes. “S.A.R.A.H.?”

 

“What is wrong Zoe? Did you want me to call Sheriff Carter back...”

 

“No.” She leaned against the kitchen counter and asked. “You run body scans all the time right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Can you tell if my Dad is in love with Stark? Like, are there chemicals spiking and hearts in his eyes?”

 

“Zoe, I feel that may violate privacy...”

 

“Yes then.” She said, knowing that S.A.R.A.H. would have denied it if it wasn't true. She rubbed her face with her hand to clear her eyes. “When this is over and Nathan gets his memories back, I'm not going to let him forget any of this. He's not getting the chance to hurt Dad. Either he makes something of it or he's going to get blackmailed into never mentioning it again. I need your help with that, OK?”

 

“I believe Dr. Stark reciprocates the feelings that the Sheriff has for him.”

 

“This is all fake. He's acting on false data.”

 

“My studies of human behavior lead me to believe that he would not find comfort in this situation, as manufactured as it may be, unless the feelings already resided in him. It would strike him as, as Douglas would put it, out of character even if he has no memories to challenge it. Dr. Stark knows himself, we have simply placed him in an alternative reality where he doesn't have his own established parameters to protect his self-constructed image.”

 

“Good.” Zoe said. “Then he deserves what's coming to him if he breaks my Dad's heart.”

 

* * *

 

 

Jack was relieved when they got to GD and Henry was still there, it meant that he could rely on another set of eyes to keep Nathan from trying to use a computer. He was slightly amused and not surprised that Zane had already had dinner courtesy of a thoughtful Deputy Lupo. “So, who made the drug and do they work here?”

 

Zane laughed and handed the list to Stark. “I would love to say this was some kind of disgruntled employee lashing out but instead it looks like it's more of a government conspiracy.”

 

“Great.” Jack said and sat down in a chair to wait for the update. Nathan threw the clipboard down in frustration so he gathered there was no recognition there.   It sounded like this was all going to be way more involved than he hoped, which meant that it could get _way_ more involved with Nathan than he hoped it would. Especially since the guy had taken to touching him as much as he could to ease him into being affectionate in public, cause _that_ was one of their fake marriage problems thanks to his screw up this afternoon. Nathan came over to his chair and his strong hands began kneaded his shoulders, massaging tension away and also reminding him of a giant cat showing his contentment. He was going to have to stop thinking of his fake husband as a family pet, even though he knew it was the only option he had to try and keep himself distant from the growing attachment to the man.

 

Jo smiled at the shoulder rub that Jack was now the recipient of as Zane mumbled something about 'you know what back rubs lead to', but then she saw Jack look like he was admonishing himself for something. He was so expressive and most of the time it was all comedic and over the top, but right now he was actively trying to suppress it. From the soft look on his face and the glistening film of sorrow forming over his eyes, she knew that this had already gone too far. Jack was already overwhelmed, struggling to keep reminding himself this was fake. She knew that look, it was the look of someone who got too attached to the mark.

 

“Why don't we start with how I was dosed with this?” Nathan said. “Can you pull up security cameras from this morning?”

 

“Unfortunately you had a cup of coffee from your private stash.” Zane said and showed the videos requested. “And before you accuse Fargo, he didn't replace the sugar jar he just used it to make your coffee. The janitorial staff, however, is not so squeaky clean as someone 'accidentally' knocked the sugar off the counter this morning while cleaning and that's when the switch probably occurred.”

 

Jack felt the kneading stop as Nathan was drawn in by the video replays. He thanked God for that small blessing but he saw Jo giving him looks that said she read him like a book.   He knew that he was in for a lecture about getting too involved in the undercover operation. It was too late for that talk. _Way_ too late.  He turned his eyes instead to the monitor where the security video was playing and then realized another major oversight on his part. He barely managed to stop himself for cursing out loud and Jo caught that as well since she was watching him like a hawk. Thankfully Henry was busy pulling up 3D models of sugar and anti-sugar amnesia antidote and spared him another set of sorry eyes. Best to get this over with now so he said to her, “Speaking of coffee, I think we're all going to need some tonight. Can you give me a hand, Jo?”

 

“Yeah.” She said and followed him out of the room, the scientists were too enthralled with what they were working on to notice, or care, that they left. Well _almost._  Stark gave Jack a look before they left the room, almost like he was scared to let him leave his line of sight. When they were a suitable distance away she asked, “What did you see?”

 

“We screwed up.” Jack said and put his hands in his pockets. “We got the whole town involved in this lie. Whoever did this to Nathan _is here_ , in GD, and we broadcasted the news to everyone that he's lost his memory and that he's my fake husband. Whoever did this to him, did so with with intentions of manipulating him into giving them information. Now what? Now what do they do when he's in my protective custody around the clock and trusts me instead?”

 

That put Jack in danger too, even though that was not his concern. Jo closed her eyes, they had really screwed this up. They were so focused on matchmaking and putting Jack in this situation, that they completely lost sight of the fact Stark was a victim. “Shit.”

 

“He's safe with me right now. It's fine.” Jack said and kept focusing on the situation instead of his partner. “Safe from himself and whoever is targeting him. However, I can't keep him locked up forever and he's going to keep pushing for answers which puts him at risk to his migraines and whoever wants to get a hold of him. “

 

“I'm worried about _you_.” Jo replied and followed him into a break room and saw him shrug it off. “I don't mean it that way. I mean I'm worried about you and Stark because maybe this whole idea was bad from the get go. Maybe, we failed to account for a lot of things.”

 

“You're not the best at being subtle, Jo.” Jack said and got the coffee cups out and set them on the counter. “What are you implying?”

 

“I'm worried about your feelings being genuine and him feeling like he has to be a genuine asshole when he gets his memory back.” Jo said and pulled him by the arm to make him look at her. This was serious, he was her friend and she let him down.  

 

“I'll be fine. “ He assured her as he looked at her face, wracked with concern. “Listen, out of everyone here I think I'm more than aware of how he can be brutal when he lashes out.”

 

“Not with ammunition like this.” She said, barely above a whisper. “Not when every shot he takes will be at your heart.”

 

“That's pretty poetic, Josefina.”

 

“Cut the shit, Carter. We both know you're falling for him and it might be real for you but he's not himself. If he was himself you'd both be dancing around the sexual tension with sarcasm instead of him massaging the tension out of your shoulders.”

 

“When has getting hurt ever stopped me from doing my job?”

 

“Not like this though.” She said. “These wounds heal slow if they ever heal. They scab over and he's the type to pick at the scabs and make them bleed.”

 

“Then let's get his memory back or keep him here all night so I don't have to lay in bed with him tonight, OK?” Jack asked and realized it sounded desperate.  “I'm sure he's going to want a demonstration of the active and shameless sex life that I've told him about. He might not be himself, but I doubt he has forgotten his libido.”

 

“Shit.” Jo repeated and looked at the coffee cups he had laid out. It was time to get back to work. “So he was dosed with a drug in his coffee. He tasted it, or else he wouldn't have been so certain about the source of it. So the sugar that was switched out was not his special artificial sweetener or the drug made it taste different.”

 

“Is that sweetener only for him? Does anyone else use that particular brand?”

 

“No, he made it. He uses it. Nobody else wants anything to do with it because they are scared of him.”

 

“Why? It's sugar or..fake sugar. Stark Sugar."  Jack said and wondered what other quirks he was going to learn about the guy.  "Is it some special formula that converts calories into abdominal muscle? Why can't he just use sugar? Why is normal not good enough? Artificial intelligence, artificial sugar....if his abs are fake I'm divorcing him.”

 

“I asked Fargo. He said it's about the calories. Considering Stark's fueled by caffeine, science and superiority, I doubt there is any room in his diet for calories from sugar for as much coffee as he needs to work all the time on science to keep that superiority.” She looked at Carter who was trying to use humor to cover up his worries.   However he was  contemplating something now.  “What?”

 

“Does he make it himself? The sweetener?” Jack asked. “If he doesn't, he has to share the formula with someone so they can produce it for him.”

 

“Right.” She nodded, that would narrow down who could have leaked the information to an outside source so he could be targeted. “Something tells me Zane won't be able to track the janitorial staff on the security cameras back to their source, there will be some interference or missing footage. Nobody goes through all this and forgets to cover their tracks. So, assuming this person is still in the building, do you think we need to address security concerns?”

 

“I think if they wanted to hurt or kidnap him, they had easier ways to do it. Taking his memory would make him search for answers. Nathan screwed up the plan by detecting the drug and acting on it. As far as the culprit knows, we don't know about the drug. We might not have really ruined anything by trying to protect him with this whole fake married thing.  We could just be trying to hide his memory loss from the DoD, that's plausible.   If he didn't detect the drug and just blamed Fargo for making shitty coffee, things wouldn't have changed that much if he walked out of his office an hour later and didn't remember anything, right?”

 

“You're right, he would have still been alarmed by the memory loss and migraine. He would have been pretty confused about why he was at GD and come out of his office.  Maybe someone was planning to intercept him then?”

 

“So whoever this is, is still in the building because they need to get close to him while he's vulnerable. Someone on the medical staff, maybe? Someone pretending to be medical staff? Jo, I think someone wants information only he has access to.”

 

“Section 5.”

 

“With him, _it's always_ Section 5.” Jack said and filled the cups of coffee. “So whoever comes to his rescue with this memory loss thing is going to try and get him access to the information he needs. They don't want him, they want what only he can get to. Right now, he doesn't know what he has access to and it has to be something that only happened in the last three years.”

 

“Looks like you're going to have to talk to Allison.” Jo said.

 

“Yeah, especially since she only has the power to lock Nathan out and assume limited control of GD without someone from Washington coming with the keys to the place to switch it over officially.” Jack said and groaned as he thought about Ally and Nathan in a room together and all the personal shit he was already having to deal with from them individually during this crisis. This sounded like a disaster considering Nathan was not happy with her already and he knew she was at home with Kevin right now, pulling her into GD was going to put her in a bad mood and probably get Nathan wound up. He didn't want to be in the middle of this but he had no choice. “I'll call her.”

 

Jo finished putting the coffee in the cups as Jack called and explained the situation to Allison. She felt worse for him now because she knew how Nathan and Allison could fight and now he was going to be part of it. They got personal fast and Nathan would more than likely get more clingy and protective of the man he was happily married to. That was not going to help Jack at all. She was going to have to coax Henry to hurry up the cure because they had to minimize the damage Jack suffered because of their mistake.  

 

 


	6. Faking and Entering

_Unforgettable_

Chapter 6

**Faking and Entering**

* * *

 

 

“I shouldn't have to ask your permission to access what I was working on.” Nathan snapped and Ally crossed her arms and raised her chin in defiance. “Especially since this is what this is all about!   Something I have access to is the reason I've been targeted so give me access so I can figure out what that is!”

 

“According to who?” Allison asked as she dropped her purse on Nathan's desk and prepared to have an all too familiar conversation with her ex-husband.  This time, however, they had an audience.

 

“Jack.” Nathan said and looked to his husband who as sitting on the couch holding his head in his hands. “Who is _always_ right when disaster strikes in this town.”

 

“According to who?” Ally asked and heard Jack moan, clearly Nathan had been doing some research.  

 

“S.A.R.A.H.” Nathan said. “A.I.'s don't lie.  She provided me with plenty of data collected over the years.  Statistically Jack saves more people than the medical division.”

 

“I can't give you access Nathan, _you_ are a security risk.” She replied calmly and adjusted the office chair since it had been set to Nathan's height and wanted to get comfortable.  They were in for a long night.   

 

“Then tell me about the artifact.” Nathan ordered.

 

“Jack!” Allison exclaimed. He was supposed to be keeping him from working!  That information could have only come from one source.

 

Oh good, now he was getting yelled at.  Jack just shrugged in response.

 

“Don't yell at him!”

 

Oh, great, now he was getting yelled about.

 

“He's the Sheriff and... “ Allison was amazed to how fired up Nathan was.  Sure they had their fights and it could get heated, but he was angry and protective now.   It was intimidating to be the recipient of that instead of the reason for it.

 

“A damned good one from what I'm told. I wouldn't marry an idiot or an incompetent.” Nathan scowled.

 

Oh, _great_ , he was going to curl up and die now. Jack looked at Allison and plead, “Can you just tell him about the artifact and maybe who might want to make him vulnerable so he would access the artifact? Or what the hell the artifact is!?”

 

Allison sat down at the desk and looked up at her angry ex-husband. Three years ago they had fought about everything: from his job, to Kevin... to the fact that he brought her to Eureka and she was the one who didn't want to leave with him. He had lashed out and implied she only married him to gain access to this town, especially after he found out she applied for his position when he put in his notice. In reality, he didn't want her to come with him to DC, they both knew that, it was an easy excuse for them both to cut ties. However the accusation stung, none-the-less, and she threw plenty of her own back at him, things that she knew weren't true.   They were at that point in a failing marriage where they funneled their emotions into anger at each other just to make sure the other one hurt as much as they did.   She wasn't proud of that part of her life and she hated that that was all he remembered.   She had to remember that he didn't recall them making amends, he didn't remember his possessive attempts to win her back. She looked over at Jack, cringing on the couch instead of reveling in the fact that Nathan was ready to fight for him. She raised her eyebrows. Oh. _Oh._

 

“Sorry, do we need to schedule a time for you to give me the information to get my job back from you?” Nathan said coldly.

 

“Nathan, for god's sake!” Jack finally yelled. “She's never said anything against us, she's doing the right thing here. You know that. Just calm the hell down.”

 

Allison raised an eyebrow as Nathan did, in fact, calm down. The feelings between him and Jack were obviously mutual and she saw the man she had fallen in love with... looking at another man. Yes, she had seen the attraction, but she hadn't seen how far things had already gone with these two. It didn't take much time for them to get comfortable with the idea of being together. Amnesia aside, Nathan Stark was not a man who would put himself at risk for something he didn't completely believe in. “The artifact is something extremely classified. It may very well be what someone is interested in as you are one of the very few people with access to it.”

 

“What about Carlson?” Nathan asked, remembering he was involved from Jack's discussion from earlier. “He had access, didn't he?”

 

“Not quite.” She said and looked to Jack who just shrugged. He was trying to do his job with the very minimum amount of information, as usual. He was trying to do his job with Nathan's help, as usual.

 

“He got reassigned.  He's not here.” Jack said before Nathan could get angry at her. “Can you please stop yelling before you blow a fuse and none of this matters because you're dead?”

 

To Allison's amazement, Nathan went over to the couch and sat down next to him. _Right_ next to him. “Nathan, giving you access to the artifact or any information about it seems to be exactly what this individual wants.”

 

“So who knows about it?” Jack asked.  "Do we have a list of names?  Zane had a list of people that worked on the drug but it was a dead end.  Maybe we are looking at the wrong pool of suspects."

 

“More people than I care to admit.” She said and leaned over the desk, Nathan's desk. She looked over at him and looked at him seated so close to Jack that their legs were touching. His arm was on the back of the couch and would be around Jack if he just sat back. Just yesterday he was seated on that same couch, legs sprawled over half of it and occupying as much of it as possible to avoid letting Jack sit on it. That was only yesterday, when they talked about the chimera incident that had kept Jack up all night hunting with Taggart. Sometimes Nathan could be very immature, she just didn't see it was to protect himself from how hard he had fallen for Jack. “That won't help us. Accusing someone at that level of the government without conclusive evidence is a mistake.”

 

“Even with evidence it won't get us anywhere.” Nathan said and looked at Jack who was still hunched over and distressed. “We can, however, clean house at GD. Whoever the mole is may be more valuable than the person controlling them. Why don't we just give them what they want? Why don't you just let me do exactly what they wanted me to do?”

 

“'Cause you'll die?” Jack chirped reminding him of the risk of his huge damned brain overheating if he used it wrong.

 

“Like I said, let's give them what they want.” Nathan said and Jack turned to look at him, fear on his face.

 

“What?!?”

 

“Put me back in the infirmary, let's start this over. Say it's a migraine. Let me escape and get to a computer. Let's see who comes for me.”

 

“Escape?” Jack asked and saw a signature Stark smile that said this plan included him being sacrificed.

 

“I read in one of Zoe's magazines in the bathroom that, in a recent study, having sex cured one-third of migraine sufferers ” Nathan said. “It's complete bullshit, but you'd try anything to make me feel better. Wouldn't you, Jack?”

 

Jack blinked as he got a wink in reply and then he said, “Wait? _Zoe's_ magazine?”

 

“Unless you subscribe to _Teen Vogue_.” Nathan said. “Not judging you.”

 

“Sorry, but is your genius plan to have sex in the infirmary for your fake headache and then leave me there while you find a computer and hack GD?” Jack asked. “That sounds like it could be _my_ dumb plan. Why are you sounding like me?”

 

“How many problems have we solved with sex at GD?” Nathan asked.

 

“Nathan, I'm serious.”

 

“Wish you would have bought your handcuffs.” Nathan pouted. “That would have made subduing you _so_ much easier.”

 

“What is happening right now?” Jack asked and Nathan stood up. He looked to Allison for an explanation or confirmation that he wasn't the one having a brain overload.

 

“Allison, can you please call the infirmary in a panic and have me admitted for a horrible migraine that you feel may be endangering my life?” Nathan asked and flashed her a charming smile.

 

“Has your brain already melted?” Jack asked. “What does this have to do with handcuffs and Teen Vogue sex advice my teenage daughter should _not_ be having delivered to my house?”

 

“I'll let you choose the way you want to make me feel better, Jack.” Nathan said, sensually and with a deep and playful purr. He reached out to help him off the couch. “But right now, I need you to give me the couch so I can appear incapacitated by a headache when the medics arrive.”

 

“Where you want to have sex?” Jack asked and looked to Allison who was picking up the phone, clearly not as lost as he was to this plan.  Did _they_ really do this in his office?  She didn't seem that surprised.   “Right now?”

 

“Trust me.” Nathan said and pulled him to his feet, kissing him gently to get his focus on him. “I'm sure you've let me take charge plenty of times. It will be good, I promise. Just let me do the work, let me tie you up....”

 

“I think my head is going to explode.” Jack said and wanted to cry. This day kept getting worse. Now he was going to be gagged ,bound and probably naked in the infirmary while Nathan ran around trying to get his memory back and tracking down some criminal. Sadly, it sounded like their best option.

 

* * *

 

 

When Henry arrived at the infirmary, the lights were dimmed and Jack was sitting in a chair, slumped over and a leg bouncing nervously. He raced down here after Jo came into Zane's lab and told them Stark had a migraine severe enough to have Allison admit him again. Jack looked anxious, Nathan was laying there with his head buried in a pillow and he walked over with a syringe in his hand. “I've made progress on the cure, but I haven't tested it yet.”

 

Jack looked up at Henry who was so seriously concerned that Stark was dying that he was willing to treat him prematurely. “He's fine. He's faking it for a blow job.”

 

Henry looked at him and said, “What?”

 

“Give it to me.” Nathan said and offered his arm to Henry.

 

“Not _in front_ of people.” Jack scoffed.

 

“The _cure_.” Nathan replied and rolled his eyes.

 

“Not much better. You want some untested shot of something that will counteract a drug affecting your brain.” Jack watched him tap his own vein, giving Henry the go ahead. “Nathan...”

 

“I worked on it with Henry while you were getting coffee with Jo for fifteen minutes.” Nathan sighed. “Can you trust me? Trust Henry?”

 

Henry sighed. “It's your call, Nathan, but for the record...I'm not sure about this.” 

 

“God...” Jack mumbled, knowing Nathan would accept the risk. “Can you please just stop and think for a moment? Think about the fact that your life is only in danger right now _from you_. We have time to work on this and catch whoever did this. Nathan, I don't want to lose you.”

 

“It will work.” He said and poked his finger in the arm to show Henry that he needed this done now before Jack got too protective.

 

Jack looked away as Henry stuck him with the needle full of something that could either kill him or cure him. Jack would lose him either way, but he found himself a little misty eyed at the mere thought of Nathan dying. He felt a tap on his arm and turned without considering Nathan could probably see the shine to his eyes and would know he was on the verge of losing it right now. _Goddammit._

 

“It will work.” Nathan said, his arm still extended and the backs of his fingers still running up Jack's arm.

 

Jack could tell he wasn't certain, that this was false confidence for his benefit. He didn't even pay attention to Henry leaving the room, he just sat there and tried to get his eyes to stop watering. “You're not being honest with me. Tell me the odds.”

 

“There it s 50/50 chance it will work.”

 

“ _Goddammit_ Nathan.” Jack said and covered his eyes with his hand to see if putting pressure on them would stop the tear ducts from overflowing.

 

“I'm a genius Jack, it didn't take me long to see that whoever is coming after me is going to have to go through you first. That's not a risk I'm willing to take.”

 

“But you'll risk your life!?”

 

“You do it all the time.”

 

Jack let his hand fall from his face and looked at the Nathan who was still running his fingers up and down his arm, the hand with his fake wedding ring on his finger. He could die. He could die thinking they were married instead of the truth which was that they barely could stand in the same room together without insulting each other. “Nathan, there is something I need to tell you.”

 

“Later.” He said and pulled on Jack's shirt sleeve and rolled over on his back. “Get in bed with me.”

 

Jack's heart felt like it was caught in his throat. It was said so softly, so quietly that he immediately thought that the drug was already working and Nathan could feel it going wrong. Just as he tasted the drug in his coffee, he could tell that it wasn't doing what it was supposed to. He heard himself sniffle, rubbed his eyes so he could get some brief clarity from his blurry vision and crawled into the bed beside him. He instantly had his arms around him, pulling him close and burying his head in his curly hair that smelled of shampoo that was distinctly Stark. At that point he lost it, sobbing and pulling Nathan's head against his chest as if holding him tightly could ward off death itself.

 

“I'm sorry.”

 

Jack couldn't speak, he was crying too damned hard. _Fuck this,_   this was _not_ supposed to happen.  This was not part of the plan.

 

Nathan pulled the hand that was embedded in his hair away, pulled it to his lips to kiss his palm. Then he kissed the ring on his finger before wrapping his hand around Jack's and pulling it to his chest.

 

Jack opened his hand and placed it over Nathan's heart. Feeling a strong beat, feeling it beat faster than it should for a man at rest. He almost didn't register the sound of a 'click' until something metal was around his wrist. He jerked away, but not quick enough to avoid being handcuffed to the bed. “What the...”

 

“Lupo let me borrow hers.” Nathan said and slipped out from under Jack's arm.

 

“Nathan!” Jack looked at his face and then back to the handcuffs. _Son of a bitch!_

 

“I'll make it up to you, Jack. Handcuffs optional.” Nathan said and quickly left the room, not wanting to see Jack's incredulous look turn to one of betrayal. It was hard enough seeing him red faced and crying before turning is back on him, however he had work to do.

 


	7. Rivals to Lovers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This got long, but I said 'only one more chapter' and I'm tired of wading through TVTropes to come up with titles. :) Enjoy.

 

 

 

_Unforgettable_

Chapter 7

**Rivals to Lovers**

* * *

 

Nathan made his way down the corridor, thankful that they returned to GD after dark so he wouldn't have to deal with crowded halls and people everywhere. He needed to get to a computer, one that wouldn't be behind a locked door but would still be in a very defend-able position.   

 

Being locked out of his account was a pain in the ass.

 

It didn't matter, he picked up a tablet that had been left on counter in the medical bay and looked at it as if _he_ was the doctor who was lazy enough to leave it laying around. Dr. Carson was going to get a lecture about security protocols when he got his job and memory back and Jack was going to hear about him reprimanding this individual for their lax attention to detail.   That should earn him points, for sure. Probably not enough to make up for pretended to be dying or manipulating Henry into using the serum before it was tested or handcuffing his husband to a gurney.  

 

Well, that was what make-up sex was for and he remembered he was very good at that.

 

Now equipped with a stolen tablet, Nathan traveled to a new floor and pulled a fire alarm in order to clear out someone from a lab he needed to borrow. It was late, but that never stopped scientists at GD from working past quitting time as their schedules were dictated by funding and not salary.  

 

“Dr. Stark!” A gasp from an open door got his attention.

 

“Do you need instruction on what to do in case of an emergency?” Nathan asked dryly as a short man in a frumpy lab coat inched out of his lab.  He had no idea who the hell this was, but all he needed was confidence in who _he_ was to pull this off.  He was the scary director of GD and that was all he needed to know.

 

“Uh...is it a _real_ emergency?” The scientist looked up at the lights flashing in the hall.

 

“It's going to be if you don't stop asking questions and leave the premise.” Nathan said. He knew how he acted around his people and how they reacted to him, that couldn't have changed in three years. The threat was enough to make the guy go wide eyed and step out of the room, almost letting the door shut and automatically close behind him. Nathan put his hand over the guy's head before that could happen and glared down at him. “I'm looking for the source of the electrical fire, I need to rule out this lab. I'll lock up.”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

That was easy. Nathan walked in, letting the door close behind him and looked around at the instruments and projects around him. It was a generic lab, nothing special. Probably some programmer. He sat down and felt lucky that the scientist had left the room in a hurry, he was still logged in. His fingers were on the keyboard and he immediately began to back out of the program that was being used.

 

He reached over and grabbed the tablet with one hand, the other still typing as he did so. He set it up so the camera on the tablet would be facing the door, plugged it in to a spare monitor and let it sit there as a personal security camera. Whoever drugged him had pretended to be janitorial staff which meant they had keys and access in order to clean up the labs. He went back to typing on the main computer and saw a window pop up in the corner.

 

_> Whatcha doing?_

 

Nathan typed back, 'Zane, I presume?'

 

_> Yeah, well you sent up a red flag saying you wanted someone to watch your adventure through GD by asking Jo for handcuffs._

 

Nathan kept working on unlocking his account, only briefly pausing to answer 'Did I get anyone elses attention?'

 

_> Negatory. Well, I'm getting a little turned on by how you're trying to work that back door._

 

Nathan ignored him and kept working. If Lupo was near him, he was already getting smacked for flirting. He knew more about Jo than he cared to, thanks to Callister. His poor A.I. son needed clarification on a lot of things she said and did with him and that was a whole new level of awkward parental sex talk he never though he'd have to have. If Zoe's magazine was the extent of the problems they had at home, then he counted himself lucky to be step-father to a girl.

 

_> I could be persuaded to help you find that sweet spot. Lube things up, if you will. Save your fingers from having to do so much work._

 

Nathan rolled his eyes. Lupo must not be watching him close enough now. He quickly typed back, 'You're not that good, Donovan.'

 

_> OK, I'll bite. Have a little tease._

 

Nathan narrowed his eyes as a new root directory materialized and screens started popping up all over with incident reports. Incident reports he wrote in regards to Carl Carlson. A redaction notice. Reports from Sheriff Cobb. Ally's write up of Sheriff Carter's physical that reported spikes but no physical damage. A video of Carlson being shot at in the middle of the street and the shot being deflected...

 

“Oh God.” Nathan sat back in his chair as he watched Jack being blown back by blast. His uniform melted, his chest boiling skin...Jack laying lifelessly on the pavement.

 

_> Uh, Stark? Visitor! Cavalry is on it's way._

 

And suddenly _he remembered_. Remembered the panic as he realized the security officer was going to shoot, the flash of light that so quickly found it's target only to be deflected on someone else. The feeling of watching Jack killed right in front of his eyes.

 

But he wasn't dead and Carlson wasn't going to let him die.

 

He sat there staring at the computer, lost in the flood of memories as they all came back to him. The drug was working and with each passing second he was regaining lost time. He could feel the migraine starting though, which he knew was going to be a side effect.   He couldn't access that part of his brain without aggravating the drug, even if it was being broken apart by the serum. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, the computer monitor's glow enough to make him light sensitive and want to vomit.

 

It didn't stop the memories, however, or the person slipping into the room behind him. He kept telling himself he accept the risk, this was his choice, both the migraine and the decision to use himself as bait. What he wasn't prepared for was the fact that marrying Jack Carter was not a choice he made.

 

* * *

 

 

“You shouldn't be working.” Allison said as she walked into Nathan's office the next morning and saw him surrounded by paperwork and coffee. Last night had ended with the capture of the individual who had drugged Nathan and that person was in a holding cell now undergoing interrogation from Jo. They said nothing, gave up no names and probably never would.   Nathan, however, was still looking for his own answers.    He had collapsed during the ensuring fight between Jo and the nameless janitor and missed most of it. When he was brought back to the infirmary he was awake, had all his memories back and suffered no ill effects from the migraine. That was six hours ago.

 

“I missed a day of work thanks to this fiasco.” Nathan informed her and kept typing. He was glad to have his memories, job and security access back.   He was scouring the system to see if there was any trace of how his attacker was given access or what they had access to thanks to their janitor position.

 

Allison watched him closely, but he was doing his best to hide behind a mask of focus and annoyance.   Last night, she had released him after a thorough exam expecting him to go after Carter as Jack had left when he found out Nathan was back to normal and nobody tried to stop him. To her dismay, Nathan didn't even check up on him or do more than demand she unlock his account and give him his office back. She went home, frustrated with him like she used to be when they were married, and now it was morning and he was still where she left him. Finally she couldn't take it anymore. “What about Jack?”

 

He looked up at her and said nothing which got him a frustrated glare as she turned around and stormed out. He looked up at the clock and sighed, it was only 7 a.m.

 

He leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling. He wasn't going to admit that his memories were fuzzy in places, or that his mind had crafted some new memories based upon the stories he had been told in order to have him believe he was married to Jack. It was back fill, it was his brain trying to help him out and it fabricated what it could from existing memories and fed it back to him. Like a dream. 

 

 So he had to give himself some time to sort it all out and that was taking time. Did he want to call Jack and tell him that those feelings were real? Yes. Did he have a grasp on what was real right now? No. Was that fair to either of them right now? No.

 

He wasn't going to deny that he had instantly trusted the man and everything he told him. He also wasn't going to deny that he couldn't trust himself right now and that was shaking him to his very core. Jack had let him lean on him enough, he wasn't going to talk to him until he had complete confidence in himself again. He remembered, quite clearly, that where _they_ were concerned that Jack had zero confidence in himself.

 

Nathan looked down at his hand and spun the wedding ring around his finger and hoped he'd understand.

 

* * *

 

 

Jack didn't understand. He didn't understand why he had given his all to this town and at every damned turn it found a new way to injure him. He didn't understand why, time after time, he allowed it to happen.

 

He left GD after finding out that Nathan was fine, health wise, and that his memories were returning. Jo had the situation under control and he wanted her to have that victory to herself, she deserved it. Really he didn't do anything but protect Nathan, lie to him and then completely fall apart when he thought he was dying and end up getting played. So yeah, he really didn't do much to solve the crime.

 

After he had been 'released' from the infirmary, he was so emotionally and physically drained he wouldn't have been much good to anyone.  In a fight,  Jo was the best choice for that job anyway and she loved her job. She did great, he never doubted she would. After being freed from the handcuffs, he sat with Zane and watched the surveillance feed.  He somehow managed to not to smack the kid for getting suggestive while he chatted with Nathan on-screen, and watched Nathan's face on the computer's camera. So he knew the exact moment that he remembered they weren't married and he wasn't sure what to make of that look.

 

It was if he went through all the stages of grief in a few seconds...while also having a migraine that caused him to black out just as the door got kicked in and Jo threw some janitor across the room like a rag doll.

 

They raced to the scene, but Jo was already heading to GD security office with the janitor and Allison was there with the medic team wheeling Nathan out. Knowing that he knew the truth, Jack kept himself from reaching out and taking his hand as he lay there unconscious. It was over, in every sense of the word, and he didn't need to keep stabbing himself in the heart. He stayed in the observation room long enough to make sure he was OK. Stayed long enough to hear he had regained his memories and paused for a second to see if he'd ask for him.

 

He asked for his security clearance back instead.

 

That was enough to assure Jack that everything had gone back to normal and he waved off Henry's consoling pat on the shoulder and told him he was going home. Everyone understood, even his kid and house who were waiting up for him when he got back.

 

Zoe read his face like a book, sometimes she scared him by reminding him of her mother. Most of the time she impressed the hell out of him because she had become an amazing young woman when he wasn't looking. He never intended to talk about his love life with her, but he owed her some kind of explanation. At a loss for words, he took off his wedding ring and put it on the kitchen island before heading to the shower. That spoke volumes.  When he was done, Zoe was in bed and S.A.R.A.H. had dimmed the lights for night mode.

 

After a sleepless night he dressed for work and got ready for the day, trying to not look at the ring that was still on the counter. Zoe didn't say much, hugged him and assured him that she got that assignment she screwed up figured out. He wished he could say the same.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Nathan looked over at his phone as the intercom went off and Fargo's voice announced, “Zoe Carter is here to see you.”

 

Nathan groaned. As if it wasn't bad enough that the entirety of Eureka and GD was treating him like he just drop kicked a puppy out into a thunderstorm, now Jack's daughter was here to do the same. He took a few hours to get himself sorted out, he was now safely back to normal, however each person he dealt with was treating him like absolute shit and he was getting tired of it. He had a damned plan! They might not like how long it was going to take, but he had a plan he was going to stick to. He looked up at the clock, it wasn't even 10 am yet. “Fine. Let her in.”

 

Zoe quickly walked in and sat down in a chair, confident and slightly pissed. She looked him over, dark eyes showing no hint of emotion as he stared back at her giving the impression she was wasting his precious time. “That look might work on _your_ people, but it has never worked on a Carter _so spare me_.”

 

He narrowed his eyes at her none-the-less. He was curious to see the younger Carter in action since Jack liked to saunter in and be as passive and ridiculous as possible when entering the room. In fact, if you weren't attracted to Jack, he'd go without notice, much by his own design. Now Zoe, not so much. She took command of a room and was ready for a fight. That...made him wonder who that attribute was inherited from. “Shouldn't you be in school?”

 

“I am a juvenile delinquent with a history of running away and multiple charges of identity theft, do you honestly think truancy issues are a major concern of mine?”

 

“Mmmm.” Nathan said and leaned back, steepling his fingers and eyeing her. “So _who_ got you into GD?”

 

“My questionable activities are not the topic of discussion right now, Dr. Stark.” She said and stood up, put her hands on his desk and leaned over it, purposely invading his space and countering his move to casually shift away from her. “I'm here to talk about _you_ and my Dad.”

 

“You had your fun while I had amnesia, along with everyone else.” Nathan replied, trying to not show how impressed he was by her negating his attempt to use personal space to his advantage. Some days he hated a small town, just about everyone was in his business. Or maybe Jack was their business and they were all planning to tell him what they thought about his actions. So much for nobody thinking Jack was good enough for him, it was definitely the other way around.  

 

“Let's not waste each other's time restating the facts in the most neutral way possible to avoid showing a hint of weakness. I'm the daughter of a cop and a psychologist. Do you honestly think I haven't taken apart every move you made in my home, piece by piece? Do you think I haven't studied your body language and eyes like an interrogator or listened to your comments with a honed ear and read between the lines? Do you really want to sit there and pretend you are some enigma wrapped in a shroud of hostility and weaponized intelligence instead of a man who was stripped of every wall of defense by some drug and clung to my father without second guessing a thing?”

 

“Not at all.  You're a brilliant and underestimated kid, much to your own design.” He replied. “I am not going to deny I'm in love with your father.”

 

“Then why the hell is my Dad in his office by himself thinking this town made a fool of him, yet again? Why did he come home alone last night and take his wedding ring off , shower and go to bed without a word? If you love him how can you do this to him? Why aren't you down there telling him that you want this fake life to be a reality as much as he does?”

 

“Because, it's not noon yet.” Nathan replied simply and there was a brief flicker of confusion that turned into concern...that twisted into a concerning look that said if there wasn't a head injury causing that nonsense statement than she was going to give him one.

 

* * *

 

“Sheriff's department.” Jack said as he finally picked up the ringing phone. Jo was out on rounds so he could hide out in his office all day doing paperwork. He didn't care what anyone thought of that, at this point it didn't matter what they thought of him. He was exhausted and honestly contemplating licking the spoon in the contaminated sugar jar currently in an evidence bag labeled 'Amnesia Sweetener' on his desk. Wiping his own memories of the last day seemed easier than remembering, and being reminded, of what he couldn't have.

 

“ _Sheriff.”_

 

“Stark?” Jack asked surprised.

 

“ _I made you a promise. High noon, middle of the street. I'm wearing black. Perhaps you'd like to meet me out here before someone runs me over?”_

 

“Uh, Ok.” Jack said and hung up. He wasn't expecting Nathan to want to deal with him. Maybe, sometime in the last twelve hours, he could have called or dropped by or indicated in some way he was even going to speak to him again, period. Jack stood up, chair dragging against the wood floor as he did so. He closed his eyes and prepared himself. Best to get this over with.

 

He walked out of the Sheriff's office and saw someone doing a K turn to turn around and head the other direction.  He took another step and saw Nathan was standing in the middle of the street, as promised, his hands folded in front of him and his legs spread just slightly in what he considered to be the classic Stark Stance. The wind blew a little, and his expensive wool coat fluttered around him, making him the perfect picture of an intimidating western movie villain calling out the Sheriff to a duel. No wonder that driver turned around, he looked like he was here to bring the Apocalypse.

 

Nathan sighed and waited. Jack was taking his sweet time, cautiously taking steps into the street and looking like he was walking to his own execution. For a man that ran everywhere, he was taking each step as if gravity was weighing him down. For a second Nathan had to narrow his eyes and make sure some gravity well hadn't popped up at an inconvenient time and caused this slow motion movement. Seeing no signs other than Jack's reluctance, he sighed impatiently and dramatically and boomed, “It won't be noon much longer if you don't pick up the pace, Sheriff.”

 

Calling him out and _calling him out_ on what he knew was a difficult thing to do, yeah...Classic Stark. Jack looked around, the sidewalks were being filled by curious onlookers and Cafe Diem's windows were packed full of faces hoping to get a view of the much anticipated Stark-Carter showdown. He put his hands in his pockets and went to the middle of the street and stopped.

 

“I'm not shooting you, you're going to have to come closer than that.” Nathan said and saw Jack's shoulders sag. For god's sake!  The man was _so_ damned dramatic. People glared at him from the sidewalks, because not only was he the person who kicked the puppy now he was scolding him because he didn't come to Master fast enough when he called.

 

Jack took a deep breath and began walking the remaining twenty feet to Nathan's location, right in front of Cafe Diem. Nathan looked good, he must have had an extra suit in his office as the rest of his clothes were still in Jack's closet at home. Well maybe. Perhaps the redaction team was stripping the bunker as they spoke, S.A.R.A.H. would probably spare him the notice on that one. Hopefully they would search the end table drawer and find their fake wedding picture and seize that too. Take the ring, for sure.  He was glad someone else was going to put his life back to normal for him this time around, going through things and arguing about furniture had been absolute hell with Abby.  Not that it was his furniture.  

 

Nathan couldn't resist a glance down to his watch as Jack was still a good ten feet from him and taking his damned time.

 

Jack knew he was dragging his feet without the reminder from Nathan. He wasn't avoiding the pain, he was clinging to this last day where things had been really good between them even if it was all fake. No...his feelings and actions had been genuine, that neither of them could doubt. He was just upset because he set himself up for this heartbreak, not because he didn't want Nathan to break his jaw for the lies and manipulation. He finally made it to within arm's reach and stopped. “Alright, let's get this over with.”

 

Nathan made him wait another minute, lost in those sad eyes that begged him to just put him out of his misery. The world went quiet around them and despite half the town turning out for this moment, he paid attention to none of them. Only one. One man who was bracing himself for the hurt that was coming and Nathan could feel his own heart breaking because of it. He could wait no longer, his dramatic bullshit was tearing Jack apart. So he reached out, grabbed him by the uniform and pulled him into a kiss.

 

Jack was almost pulled off his feet as Nathan jerked him forward with enough force that he slammed into him, lips first. Lips..kissing him. A little bit of tongue with nowhere to go. _Lips_? _Kissing_? _Nathan?_

 

Jack's brain might have actually shut down as he wasn't kissing back, just frozen in place. Ignoring the cheers from all the bystanders, Nathan pulled away to check and make sure the Sheriff was still breathing. “I told you that when I got my memory back that I was going to kiss you in the middle of the damned street and nobody, not even you, was allowed to think you weren't good enough for me. Do you not comprehend _anything_ I tell you?”

 

Jack was wondering if he fell asleep at his desk or was hallucinating since he had been awake for too many consecutive days. Nathan, real Nathan, just kissed him in front of everyone.

 

“Jack? Did I break you?”

 

“I lied to you.” Jack replied, confused.

 

“You were completely honest with me and it's about time I am honest with myself and you.”

 

“I lied to you.” Jack repeated. “We all did.”

 

“Don't think, Jack. It's not your forte.”

 

“Hey!”

 

Nathan shut him up with another kiss, pulling him in close and giving Eureka a dose of that 'movie style kiss' Zoe had apparently hoped he would lavish up on her father. Full on, romance movie style 'I'm going to make you never look at anyone but me again' kiss. _In front of everyone_.

 

Jack stopped thinking and gave in, wrapping his hand around Nathan's head so he wouldn't back off this time. They kissed, making up for lost time, insults and all the missteps they had made to get to this place right here and now. In the middle of the street, kissing in front of everyone. He put a hand on Nathan's chest and had to agree that his suit felt impossibly soft, a sharp contrast to the hard muscle beneath.

 

“So, dinner tonight? Your place?”

 

“Uh...sure.”

 

“My stuff is still at your house as well.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Means I don't have to leave tonight, if you're interested in telling me all the interesting ways you've thought about us having sex.”

 

“All of them? You want to really miss three years of life while I go through my imagination?”

 

“I'd like to make up for missing out on you for the last two years, but we can start with lunch.” Nathan mulled that over. “Or, since you haven't slept in days, we can go to my place and go to bed right now.”

 

“Well, I mean, you're the doctor.”

 

“Let's start with lunch.” Nathan said and brushed his cheek with his finger. “You're too tired and in too much shock right now to be any good in bed.”

 

“Listen...” Jack said, offended, but his protest died in his mouth as Nathan kissed him again.  When it ended he asked, “Where have you been? I've been worrying about you all damned night and had to call Allison...”

 

“I didn't have all my memories back and I couldn't sort through what was real and constructed. Didn't want her knowing that.” He admitted. “I had a lot to sort through and my head was killing me.”

 

“Promise me, that ends now.” Jack said and stroked his cheek with his hand. “Promise me that if we do this, for real, that you are going to trust me like you did when you didn't even know me.”

 

“It's going to take me time, but I'd like nothing more to be that man I was with you.” He admitted, much to his own surprise.

 

“Good, because I wasn't sure what I was going to do without you.” Jack said and stepped back, both of them probably having enough self-actualization for one day. “So don't you dare handcuff me to the bed again unless we talk about it before hand.”

 

“So is tonight too soon to talk about that?”

 

“No?” Jack replied and saw a smile that he was glad he wasn't going to have to go without seeing him tonight.

 

Seeing traffic backed up and Jack completely unaware of it because he was staring at him with a warm glow on his face, Nathan pulled him out of the middle of the street by his hand and into the waiting crowds of Eurekans who were cheering for them.  

 

Jack turned as he heard cars go by and cars honk, waving at him and giving thumbs up. He forgot they were blocking the road, he got so lost in the moment. He turned back to looking at Nathan, a good thing since he almost tripped on the curb, and thought he saw Zoe's face in the crowd. A second glance made him think he was imagining it. She didn't skip school anymore. It did raise a question though and he clarified what he had just agreed to. “So dinner tonight? _At my place_?”

 

“S.A.R.A.H. can cook.” Nathan answered knowing he was actually answering the question about whether or not he wanted to have family dinner again like they did last night. "I'm not doing Zoe's homework, but I did send her teacher an email about that question on yesterday's assignment."

 

“Great.” Jack said and Nathan held the door for him. Vincent was waving at him already, pointing to the booth they had occupied yesterday. The counter was full of people, probably anxious to collect their winnings. It made him wonder if he could get his hands on some of the photos they took yesterday. There would probably be plenty more, he couldn't see himself letting Nathan go now. Not now that they had bared themselves to each other and he felt like it was a piece of his life he had always been missing. It pained him to admit it, but he felt like he had to be honest, "Not sure I'm going to be up to much activity tonight, I'm a little exhausted."

 

"I'd like nothing more than to spend the night with you either way."  Nathan replied quietly.

 

"You're still wearing your ring."

 

Jack was observant, he was a cop after all. Nathan shrugged and sat down, taking it off and then tossing it at Jack as he sat in the booth across from him.   "Give it back to me when I've earned it."

 

Jack held the ring and stared at him.  He felt the weight of it, the ring and the statement, and put it in his shirt pocket for safe keeping.   "I'll do that."

 

 


End file.
